Postscript

It's been over a month since our return, so it's a good time to summarize the adventure. We had a wonderful time, and as always, we are excellent travel partners. I doubt that most couples enjoy being together constantly for 6 weeks as much as we do.

And as always, we thank you for reading along. We do this primarily to remind ourselves of fun places and events. But it is gratifying when others find it interesting...especially folks in other countries that we don't even know (We're talking to YOU, France and Russia!)

We'll just give a brief summary of each destination, in order of the itinerary, with highlights and downsides. And we'll note whether we'd visit there again, or if we've seen/done everything and---as we say---we have "bagged it."

Great Basin
We had never even heard of this park until we started planning this trip. This is a gem: beautiful scenery, nice trails, no crowds, with the bonus of excellent caverns to explore on a guided tour. The park is clean and unspoiled, probably because it is so unknown.
One downside: good nearby accommodations are lacking. But we'd definitely go back again.

Cedar Breaks
Amazing colors in rock, but definitely upstaged by its more dramatic cousin on the other side of the plateau, Bryce Canyon. Cedar Breaks is a nice park, but has limited hiking trails. There is a stunning 360 degree view from the peak of Bryan Head, right outside of the park. Because there are much more amazing landscapes relatively nearby at Bryce and Zion Canyons, and because we've seen pretty much all of it, we would say,
"Bagged it"

Bryce Canyon
An extensive canyon with vivid colors and spectacular formations, with some fine trails down into the hoodoos.
Downside: can be EXTREMELY crowded.
Definitely a place we would recommend, but since we've been here twice and done all the trails we want to do: ---bagged it.

Zion Canyon
This was our second time here as well, and we were really looking forward to revisiting a couple of lovely trails from our first stay. But due to high temperatures, we only walked---or rather, >waded< ---the Narrows, which was a major highlight. Zion is a stunning piece of natural beauty that we compare to Yosemite, but with less water.
Downside: it can be insanely hot and insanely crowded.
Nevertheless, since there is so much to see and do, we would go again... but always in the off season.

Grand Canyon North Rim
The far less-crowded side of this must-see canyon. Some excellent hiking available, or you can drive to different lookout points over the canyon. There are some accommodations outside the park, but it's a bit of a drive. We found the cabin at the Lodge to be basic, but quite comfy. And it's a quick stroll to the canyon rim. Excellent dining at the Lodge, though you need reservations. Can be crowded, but its more remote location keeps it from being like the relative Disneyland at the South Rim.
We'd go again.

Vermillion Cliffs
This is a fairly young park, and as such there is limited access. In fact, we would have had no way to see what we saw here without being part of a small guided tour. But the South Coyote Buttes section was one of the highlights of this whole trip: the most amazing landscape we have ever seen. A photographer's dream location.
Downside: You can only access this spot with a BLM Permit. And unless you are a SERIOUS off road expert with the right vehicle, you could get into a lot of trouble here.
We would absolutely go here again, but would want the same guide service--- Paria Outpost Outfitters--- They were great.

Lower Antelope Canyon
Another amazing sight, being at the bottom of a slot canyon full of vibrant color. Outstanding photo spot, as evidenced by our 200+ photos here.
Downside: The only access is with a guided tour. We lucked out with an excellent guide who was interesting and fun, with a minimum of canned chatter.
Again, a place we'd recommend. But we've probably bagged it.

Lake Powell
Interesting tour through the dam.
Downside: The Lake Powell boat tour, however, was something we should have skipped. It's cool to see canyon walls from a boat. But after seeing Zion, Bryce and Grand Canyon, this is like taking a tour of your bathtub.
Bagged it and threw out the bag.

Monument Valley
Wonderful desert landscape, but there's only one short hiking trail. The drive past the Lodge was big fun in our Subaru. But with mud up to the doorsills I wouldn't have wanted a lot of other vehicles. The Navajo-owned View Hotel was excellent. But because we've seen about all we can see there, we've bagged it.

Mesa Verde
Fascinating ancestral Puebloan ruins, some nice hikes. Wonderful history lesson.  And half the park was closed for the season when we were there. Accommodation at the lodge was comfortable.
Downside: Only place to eat dinner is at the lodge, which is pretty pricey. But you can always make the mistake of eating at the bar---as we did.
We'd definitely go again, but first we would revisit Chaco Canyon.

Chaco Canyon
Another highlight of our trip. We had heard from several people how amazing this place is. They were right. This was the heart of a sophisticated culture, and we find it fascinating to be in places with such rich history. The ranger-guided tours added a lot to our understanding and appreciation.
Downside: unless you want to camp, and are lucky enough to get a campsite, it is a looooong and arduous drive to get here; 75 miles from the nearest motel, 17 miles of which are on unpaved road that can be brutal.
But we would go again.

Canyon de Chelly
A beautiful canyon of green in the middle of desert.
Downside: because the bottom is all Navajo land, the only way to get into it (other than one trail) is with a local guide. This can be interesting. But otherwise all you can do is drive to viewpoints and look over the edge. Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon both offer a much more intimate connection with what we want to see.
Bagged it.

Painted Desert/Petrified Forest
These two conjoined parks were a very pleasant surprise. Both offer overlooks of brightly "painted" landscapes, dotted with logs of petrified wood. An amazing place that we stopped at just because it was on the way. We wanted more time there, so we would go again.

Sedona
We know that Sedona is a very special place to many. But we found it to be over-rated, over-priced, over-commercialized and over-run. It is a beautiful site for a city, surrounded by towering red rock. But we saw far more impressive rocks elsewhere. In Sedona you can step out of your room and see it, but we don't mind driving or hiking to be in the middle of beauty. And if you do want to hike around here, be prepared to fight a traffic jam at the parking areas. A good place to be seen at the bar, take a Pink Jeep Tour, or get your aura photographed, but those are not our priorities.
Downside: See above
There are some pretty and interesting places nearby, such as Montezuma's Well and Montezuma's Castle (neither having any real association with the Aztec ruler), and the little town of Clarkdale where we stayed, just outside of Sedona, was lovely.
Balanced our own chakras and Bagged it.

Meteor Crater
OK, this isn't a national park. And it is a bit of a tourist trap. But it was very interesting and we're glad we went there.
Downside: despite billboard suggestions to the contrary, we saw not a single extraterrestrial life form (that we know of).
Bagged it.

Sunset Crater/Wupaki National Monument
Another set of conjoined parks that we only visited because they were on our route and we had time.
Sunset Crater is a beautiful volcanic area. Wupaki features more ancient ruins set in the desert. Located pretty close to Flagstaff AZ.
We would have liked more time, so we would return here.

Grand Canyon South Rim
We knew this would be crowded and commercial, so it was no surprise to find fierce competition for a good parking spot. But once we found that spot, we left the car for several days and traveled via the excellent bus system. An awesome trail along the rim, and two trails down into the canyon. Way more options for food here than at North Rim.
Downside: It's basically the reverse of the views we had from the North Rim. Considering the crowds, we would prefer the far more laid-back and natural feel of the North Rim.
Bagged it.

Joshua Tree
So glad we added this park to the itinerary, even if it was kind of an afterthought. A delightful surprise; stunning scenery, history, interesting plant life, some really nice trails, all located just minutes from accommodations and food choices. And despite proximity to LA, it was not crowded.
Downside: You must be crazy to even THINK about visiting here in the heat of summer.
Great park that we would definitely see again.

Getty Villa
Fascinating look at ancient european culture and art, situated in a reconstruction of a huge villa that was buried by the 79 A.D eruption of Vesuvius.
Downside: LA.  We really enjoyed the visit. But since to get there we had to suffer LA traffic (we're talking about 125 miles of traffic-jammed freeway!) and since we've seen it, we would say:
Bagged It. (Did we mention that we hate LA?)

Kings Canyon/Sequoia
Weather forced a cancellation of our visit here. So we shall try it again in the future.
Downside: You must be crazy to even THINK about visiting here in November...like we did.

Getty Villa

When oil man J Paul Getty's art collection outgrew his home, he commissioned a villa built to house the collection.  He modeled it after a first century Roman country house, the Villa dei Papyri in Herculaneum, Italy, which was buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 A.D.  Villa dei Papyri is believed to have been owned by Lucius Calpurnius Piso, who was Julius Ceasar's Father-In-Law, and is so named because of the huge library of papyrus scrolls that was buried inside it. Those scrolls were carbonized by the heat and ash, but with scientific advances some parts of them are now becoming readable.  Architectural and landscaping details of the Getty Villa and the gardens are modeled after the Villa dei Papyri whenever possible.  When details of the original villa are unknown the Getty Villa is as consistent as possible with ancient Roman times.  The Getty Villa now houses J Paul Getty's extensive antiquities collection and is open to the public free of charge.  When we first decided to see the Getty Villa, we were planning to visit Italy within a year.  Italy has since been dropped from our travel plans to focus more on Northern Europe... but the reservations for the Villa were already made and we are still both interested in that part of history.

We found it an interesting counterpoint to explore early Roman culture and architecture at the Getty Villa so soon after exploring early Puebloan ruins and learning so much about early cultures from our own country.  Here are some pictures from our day at the Getty Villa...

Looking into the courtyard that was the main living area of the Villa.

This is the actual size of the outer courtyard of the Villa, which contained a 300 foot long pool, lush gardens, statuary, and exquisite marble everywhere. 

Statuary in the Getty Villa gardens is reproductions of works found in the Villa dei Papyri

This fountain is in the East garden, where the ladies of the household spent most of their time.

A section of marble floor

Although we were told this statue originally held some sort of implement, we believe she was actually the bass guitarist  in Herculaneum's hottest girl band. 

Nice backyard, eh?

We expected the Getty Villa to occupy only a portion of the day, and had planned to visit the larger Getty Art Museum as well. But this was so fascinating that we spent the entire day wandering through this beautiful villa and the collection of art inside.

We have cancelled our reservation at Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Parks.  Highs were predicted to be in the low 20's the days we were planning to be there.  Yes, Highs.  We are talking Fahrenheit.  Maybe snow too.  Didn't sound fun.  So we are headed on home.  It has been a wonderful and interesting trip!

Joshua Tree Day Two and the Drive to Malibu

Our second day in Joshua Tree we took a couple of walks to old deserted mines.  Weather was perfect.  Ed was particularly taken with the remains of two old trucks, one of which was actually a car with the back seat removed and discarded nearby to make it into a work truck.  The roof had been customized, to fit it's new truck-ness, by nailing sheet metal onto the wooden frame.  The second truck had the tires still attached... well, parts of them, anyway.

I can make such a deal for you! ---Imagine the surprised look on your wife's face when you pull up in this baby!

We also saw an old tank with a very strong rim!

The second site, Lost Horse Mine, was reached by a longer hike, way up at the top of a very remote hill. It was supposedly discovered by an old prospector while searching for a wayward steed. He sold his rights for $1,000 ---big bucks in the late 19th century.

Looking down from Lost Horse Mine, to the rock piles of Joshua Tree.

Colleen displays her Happy Hiker step.

It was the best preserved old mining structure and equipment we have ever seen.



Then, a drive to a mountain top view point.  We encountered a bit of wildlife along the road...

It was VERY windy and cold on the mountain top, so Colleen wore the new hat Ed had bought for her earlier in the day, and got a compliment from a passerby.

Looking south to the Salton Sea at upper left. The farthest mountain is in Mexico.

Next morning we were up early, knowing we had a long drive ahead of us.  Six hours... with no stops and no traffic.  Of course lots of both slowed us down considerably.

Ed took a couple of last minute photos of the very creative little studio where we have stayed for the last three nights...

Looking out our front door. 

A creative way to diffuse light from the skylight.

We decided to go out for breakfast.  We had heard that "Country Kitchen," a little restaurant close to our studio, served up a darn good breakfast.  We seated ourselves at a little table in this tiny little place, and the no-nonsense proprietress, Mariene, who immigrated from Cambodia over 20 years ago, plopped menus in front of us.  We barely had time to look at them when she returned to take our orders.   She asked in very brisk and efficient fashion what Colleen wanted, then said... "Got it!" and moved on to Ed.  After his "Got it!" she left and we began looking around.  On the wall were photos of Mariene, a few years younger, smiling happily standing beside Anthony Bourdain from the Travel Channel.  Sharing the same wall were quotes from the Dali Lama and more quotes from maybe her grandmother, which were for sale for $3, plus hand made roses for sale for $5.  A handwritten sign by the register says, "In God we trust. All authors (sic) pay cash". We laughed when another customer asked if she could substitute a biscuit for toast and Mariene tapped her finger on the menu and commanded, "Read the menu!"  She is a wonderful character and kept us chuckling, and our breakfast was excellent!

Another beautiful cactus...

We had never seen the Salton Sea, and since we were so close, we decided to take a detour to view it. Pretty amazing to think this immense body of water resulted from a goof in plumbing, when in 1905 the folks in charge of levees failed to manage the water flow. The Colorado flowed into this basin for 2 years.

Once we got back down off the mountain, it was straight freeway to suffer through....125 miles of misery through the LA basin. We were reminded how much we dislike this area.  Well after dark we finally checked into our sweet little studio for the next two nights... an air bnb in Thousand Oaks.  Tomorrow, for something completely different, we will explore the Getty Villa in Malibu.

Joshua Tree National Park

Neither of us knew much about Joshua Tree National Park before we came here.  We arranged our stop here because we wanted something else to do on the long drive home from the Grand Canyon South Rim. So we scanned the map...  "Oh yeah... Joshua Tree National Park...  I've heard of that.  Let's go there!"  And so we did.  Now let me also say that we are not so much desert people.  We both like to be around water and cool weather.  However, on this trip we are both appreciating the charms of the desert... as a a place to visit, not to live.  And Joshua Tree National Park has turned out to be particularly beautiful!  Our first day here we explored the park to give ourselves an overview.  We found many beautiful rock formations here.  In fact, Joshua Tree attracts rock climbers from all over the world, especially in the winter months when the temperatures here are quite pleasant and many climbing destinations are covered in snow.  And the Joshua Trees are also quite spectacular...

We have found the sky here to be pretty spectacular too....

You may notice from the sky that this is quite an air traffic corridor...



Okay, a few obligatory words about rocks: There are lots of them here, mostly in what appear to be enormous piles. This is called monzogranite, and is the remnants of magma plugs that were formed 15 miles (!!!) below the earth surface. All that land above them has been worn down. Because they cooled very slowly, the grains are much larger than regular granite, so it has a very rough and grippy surface. Excellent for climbing on, but not so good if you fall.

We love the shapes of the Joshua Trees. This group reminded us of an unsychronized squad of multi-armed cheerleaders. 

We took a self-guided self-drive geology tour as far as our all wheel drive Subaru would take us.  Beyond this point four wheel drive is required, but we gazed wistfully at the road not taken. We also wondered if the guy who continued past this point in the Honda ever made it out.  We were warned that a tow out of here will cost at least $1,000.

We have also become familiar with Cholla Cactus. But have avoided getting TOO familiar. It may look soft and cuddly, and indeed is known as "Jumping Teddy Bear" because of it's cuteness. But each of those bazillion spikes has microscopic barbs which will easily attach to clothing or skin, and are apparently extremely difficult and painful to remove. 

This Cholla wants to give Ed a little innocent hug.

Nestled among different plants we find these mounds of old dead Cholla parts, blackened with age. These are the nests of Desert Wood Rats, who pile the spiny balls around the entrances to their burrows. All their natural predators except snakes will find this to be an impenetrable barrier to the mammals inside. These burrows have been used by so many generations, that excavations and studies have shown some to be around 10,000 years old!  

We also found a grove of the enormous spiny plants we first encountered near Sedona, which we have since learned is called an Ocotillo.  This plant can look dead in dry times but after a rain leaves and blossoms appear.

And some lovely cactus for a bit of color.

With a new layer of dust on our car, and on ourselves, we head back to our place at sunset. Another splendid day. 

Grand Canyon to Joshua Tree

Our last morning at the Grand Canyon South Rim we were a little disappointed, but mostly relieved, to wake to barely a hint of the predicted snow.  Of course we would have loved to see the canyon dusted in snow and get some photos.  But we didn't want any snow on the road to complicate our driving, so that would have been a difficult balance to achieve.  We started off on snow-free roads and we were happy.  We both assumed that we would be dropping in elevation as soon as we left the park and the possibility of snow would therefore end. ---WRONG!  We were surprised to be GAINING elevation, while watching the outside temperature gauge drop to 33 degrees.  Bits of snow began spitting not far outside the park... and continued... and gained strength... and by the time we reached the Interstate at Williams.....

Ed did a great job of negotiating the driving challenge and, though the conditions slowed us down considerably, we made it safely through to clear, dry weather. But at 6 hours, it was one of the longest days drives we have had.

'Nuff said

We drove down a section of the old Route 66, through the once-bustling town of Amboy, which is now mostly a ghost town collection of abandoned shacks. Further down the road, we were quite intrigued by this sight...a vast valley with thousands of these shapes. What was going on here?... Remnants of ancient civilizations?...Aliens at work? ...Large desert moles?

Once we were able to get online and do some research, we found that this is actually the results of a massive surface mining operation for salt. This is a dry lake bed with immense deposits of sodium chloride.

Our little place in Joshua Tree is pretty funky but quite comfy. From what we gather, this area attracts a lot of folks who don't want to deal with pesky things like building permits. Our place features some creative wiring, with many extension cords and signs asking to not plug in too many things at once. Someone has done some beautiful tile work here, but old doors are set into the walls and ceiling for windows and a skylight.  There is a mirror conveniently placed on one wall. However, it is placed so low that it only gives you a reflection of your feet. But we find this kind of quirkiness to be charmingly individualistic. We have our own little private outdoor area with a bbq, outdoor table, a large hammock and a fire pit surrounded by chairs. Across the road and down a trail we are told we can find petroglyphs on the rocks. We are right outside of the National Park, which we will explore tomorrow.

Grand Canyon South Rim

Our first morning at the Grand Canyon South Rim we had scheduled a flight-seeing tour in a small plane over the canyon.  When we woke to gusty wind we wondered if the tour would take place.  It was our lucky day because, not only did the tour go, but we were two of only five passengers signed up for the flight.  So we flew on a smaller plane than the usual plane used for this tour, which meant all seats were window seats.  And, though the other group of three boarded the plane first and took first choice of seats, they left us two seats on the left side of the plane, which, since the plane circles the canyon counter clockwise, is the side overlooking  the canyon for the entire flight.  It was spectacular!  Here are some photos from the flight...

The Kaibab Forest ends abruptly at Canyon's edge

Occasional glints of sun off the surface of the Colorado River

After the flight we alternated walking with riding the shuttle bus along the rim trail, all the way to Hermit's Rest at the end of the road where we found another beautiful stone building designed by Mary Colter.  Of course we saw many more beautiful views of the canyon along the way...

Despite Colleen's unruffled appearance, the winds were pretty brisk. 

The muddiness at low center is the Colorado, which an early explorer described as "Too thick to drink, too wet to plow."

And this sweet creature as well... with a mouth full of something tasty for his winter pantry...

By late afternoon the wind was strong and gusting and we noticed there were no more planes or helicopters flying over the canyon.  We were glad we took the first (and maybe last) flight of the day!

We had another simple dinner at the Bright Angel Coffee Shop and called it a night.  Tomorrow morning we are considering a walk down into the canyon...  No, not to the bottom... but we would like to get at least a little way below the rim.

We woke to cloudy skies which gave the canyon a whole new look.  Patches of sun and shade move across the landscape creating a constantly changing palette of colors.

Once again, a passing Raven wanted to be in our blog. 

The weather report for our last day here is... well... shall we say not perfect.  Windy and sixty percent chance of rain.  We decided to give the canyon a go anyway, choosing the Kaibab Trail, one of two trails into the canyon from the South Rim.  Kaibab is the steeper of the two trails but has a viewpoint just 1.8 miles and 760 vertical feet into the canyon.  The trail started out switchbacks and stairs, with some less steep sections farther down.  

If you look carefully, you can see many switchbacks up the cliff face.

Further down the trail. In the lower right there is a mule train winding their way up. Some of their passengers did not look particularly happy. I would prefer to be as close to the ground as possible on this trail.

It became increasingly windy as we walked but the view from the appropriately-named "Ooh Aah Point" was totally worth it. From there, we had about a 180 degree panorama.

On the way back up the wind increased and rain began falling.  We made it to the top before we put our rain gear on... and then the downpour began... soon turning into hail.  By the time we boarded the shuttle bus we were dripping water and other visitors with less appropriate clothing were soaked to the skin.  We made it back to our warm dry little cabin and spread our wet clothes out to dry.  We sneaked a contraband rice cooker in, heated some canned soup for lunch and settled in to catch up on email and write a little on the blog for the rest of the day.  Now, after a fabulous dinner at the Arizona Room we are done for the night.  Tomorrow we drive to Joshua Tree for a three night stay.  Weather reports suggest we may wake up tomorrow morning to the first snow of the year...